molten mud and flames soaring into the air.
Hurriedly you shoulder your Bow and reach for your weapon as the great beast comes lumbering slowly towards you with his massive jaw agape.
Unless you possess a Platinum Amulet, a Talisman of Ishir, or the Discipline of Grand Nexus, you must now deduct 3 ENDURANCE points due to the debilitating effects of the heat and atmosphere.
Turn to 316 .
78
You shout the order to fire and the Kai let loose their straining bowstrings. A cloud of arrows with armour-piercing tips, hardened in the fires of the monastery forge, whistle towards the swooping Lavas with impressive accuracy. All find their target, but only one of the winged creatures falls from the sky. You see that the beast has been struck in the eye. Hurriedly the acolytes reload as the Lavas prepare to land on the battlements.
‘Fire at their eyes!’ you shout, and a cloud of fifty Kai arrows are sent screaming through the sky to seek their elusive mark. This time more than half find their target, decimating the onrushing Lavas at a single stroke, yet those winged creatures who do survive this deadly volley are quickly among the defenders on the wall.
Turn to 165 .
79
Using the Brotherhood Spell Mind Charm , you command the prisoner to reveal the identity of the person who sent him here to Garthen to murder you. At first you are unable to penetrate the man's mind — his memory is protected by a magical shield. Then you draw on your psychic Kai skills to boost the Mind Charm spell and suddenly you feel the man's magical shield begin to crack and disintegrate.
The man shrieks with fear as his body is racked by convulsions. A mass of images swirls and solidify in your mind's eye — they are images of a past meeting in a far-off place which you recognize to be Duadon, the capital city of Eldenora. You see a shadowy figure, sheathed in ornate chainmail, handing a bulging pouch of gold to the prisoner in a dimly lit alleyway. The figure speaks your name before melting away into the shadows.
‘Who is this person?’ you say, commanding the trembling prisoner to answer. He parts his bruised lips and tries to utter a name but no sound emerges. You sense that he is fighting to overcome the remnants of the shielding spell placed upon his mind. Moving closer, you try to make out the name he is struggling hard to whisper.
Turn to 326 .
80
The herd of coppery-red dragons continues its relentless advance across the fiery plain. You count more than a hundred in total, and each one is as long and as broad as a galleon. The largest of their number, who is also the swiftest of foot, comes looming towards you, breathing blasts of blue flame. His scaly brethren halt in their tracks and watch expectantly, through hooded black eyes, as their leader stalks you like a cat preying upon a helpless dormouse.
Illustration V —The scaly dragon brethren watch as their leader stalks you like a cat.
High above, swooping in and out of the clouds, are scores of cackling Lavas. You sense also another presence, a wispy dark shadow that exudes malevolence. You shudder when you realize that you are in the presence of a manifestation of Naar himself. He has come to witness your doom, to enjoy the sport of your final, futile battle, before he unleashes his dragons upon Sommerlund. The Lavas' attacks were but a preliminary phase of his master plan to destroy Sommerlund and the Kai.
With terror in your heart you retreat across the moving sands in a desperate attempt to reach the Shadow Gate — your only hope of escape. The dragon continues to advance and it utters a thunderous roar as it bares its fangs in preparation for its attack.
If you have a Bow and wish to use it, turn to 196 .
If you do not, or if you choose not to use it, turn to 122 .
82
Using the Old Kingdom Battle-spell Hold Enemy , you command the Eldenoran to cease all movement. Instantly, the drunken thug freezes like a stone statue, enabling the young woman and her child to
Hurriedly you shoulder your Bow and reach for your weapon as the great beast comes lumbering slowly towards you with his massive jaw agape.
Unless you possess a Platinum Amulet, a Talisman of Ishir, or the Discipline of Grand Nexus, you must now deduct 3 ENDURANCE points due to the debilitating effects of the heat and atmosphere.
Turn to 316 .
78
You shout the order to fire and the Kai let loose their straining bowstrings. A cloud of arrows with armour-piercing tips, hardened in the fires of the monastery forge, whistle towards the swooping Lavas with impressive accuracy. All find their target, but only one of the winged creatures falls from the sky. You see that the beast has been struck in the eye. Hurriedly the acolytes reload as the Lavas prepare to land on the battlements.
‘Fire at their eyes!’ you shout, and a cloud of fifty Kai arrows are sent screaming through the sky to seek their elusive mark. This time more than half find their target, decimating the onrushing Lavas at a single stroke, yet those winged creatures who do survive this deadly volley are quickly among the defenders on the wall.
Turn to 165 .
79
Using the Brotherhood Spell Mind Charm , you command the prisoner to reveal the identity of the person who sent him here to Garthen to murder you. At first you are unable to penetrate the man's mind — his memory is protected by a magical shield. Then you draw on your psychic Kai skills to boost the Mind Charm spell and suddenly you feel the man's magical shield begin to crack and disintegrate.
The man shrieks with fear as his body is racked by convulsions. A mass of images swirls and solidify in your mind's eye — they are images of a past meeting in a far-off place which you recognize to be Duadon, the capital city of Eldenora. You see a shadowy figure, sheathed in ornate chainmail, handing a bulging pouch of gold to the prisoner in a dimly lit alleyway. The figure speaks your name before melting away into the shadows.
‘Who is this person?’ you say, commanding the trembling prisoner to answer. He parts his bruised lips and tries to utter a name but no sound emerges. You sense that he is fighting to overcome the remnants of the shielding spell placed upon his mind. Moving closer, you try to make out the name he is struggling hard to whisper.
Turn to 326 .
80
The herd of coppery-red dragons continues its relentless advance across the fiery plain. You count more than a hundred in total, and each one is as long and as broad as a galleon. The largest of their number, who is also the swiftest of foot, comes looming towards you, breathing blasts of blue flame. His scaly brethren halt in their tracks and watch expectantly, through hooded black eyes, as their leader stalks you like a cat preying upon a helpless dormouse.
Illustration V —The scaly dragon brethren watch as their leader stalks you like a cat.
High above, swooping in and out of the clouds, are scores of cackling Lavas. You sense also another presence, a wispy dark shadow that exudes malevolence. You shudder when you realize that you are in the presence of a manifestation of Naar himself. He has come to witness your doom, to enjoy the sport of your final, futile battle, before he unleashes his dragons upon Sommerlund. The Lavas' attacks were but a preliminary phase of his master plan to destroy Sommerlund and the Kai.
With terror in your heart you retreat across the moving sands in a desperate attempt to reach the Shadow Gate — your only hope of escape. The dragon continues to advance and it utters a thunderous roar as it bares its fangs in preparation for its attack.
If you have a Bow and wish to use it, turn to 196 .
If you do not, or if you choose not to use it, turn to 122 .
82
Using the Old Kingdom Battle-spell Hold Enemy , you command the Eldenoran to cease all movement. Instantly, the drunken thug freezes like a stone statue, enabling the young woman and her child to
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